System and method for customized message delivery

ABSTRACT

A message distribution technique permits individual subscribers to receive text messages from a broadcaster. The broadcaster uploads a text message to a central processing service where it may be redirected to a chat room associated with the broadcaster, In addition, a push notification is sent to ail subscribers of a particular broadcaster to indicate the delivery of a text message from the broadcaster. The push notification may also contain a link that, when activated by the subscriber, initiates an associated software application program that navigates the subscriber directly to the chat room to view the text message. The text message may be generated and uploaded by the broadcaster without having to activate the software application. The push notification may also be received by subscribers without having to activate the software program. In one embodiment, the broadcaster can limit distribution of the video based on a geographic restriction.

CROSS REFERENCE OF THE RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 14/883,418, filed Oct. 14, 2015, which is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/838,062,filed Aug. 27, 2015, the disclosures of which are incorporated byreference herein in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present disclosure relates generally to video streaming and, moreparticularly, to a system and method for live video streaming using pushtechnology.

Description of the Related Art With improvements in wireless networktechnology and computer network technology, video streaming has becomecommonplace. Almost all smartphones manufactured today include videocameras. Similarly, laptop computers, tablet computers, and similardevices also include video cameras. These various devices can accesscomputer networks, such as the Internet, user can easily send andreceive image data and video data.

Service providers, such as YouTube, LLC, allow users to upload videodata for viewing by others. Users wishing to watch a YouTube videonavigate to the website and select a video for downloading. Other videoservice providers may include a link to guide users to a website wherethey may view a selected video. Celebrities may have a large fan basethat follow the celebrity on various forms of social media, such asTwitter, Instagram, and the like. Celebrities may also upload video datafor retrieval by fans. While some forms of social media, such asTwitter, allow a fan to receive messages from a celebrity, there is adesire to follow celebrities as they perform certain activities. What isneeded is a system and method that sends live video streaming to thecelebrity fan base. The present invention provides this, and otheradvantages, as will be apparent from the following detailed descriptionand accompanying figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary environment of a system architectureused to implement the present teachings.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the video server of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a process for login and account setupin accordance with the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the process of uploading a video tothe video server of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the distribution of an uploaded videoto a subscriber list in accordance with the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates an alternative embodiment of a system architectureused to implement the present teachings.

FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram of the message servicing agency ofFIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is flow chart illustrating the operation of an exemplaryembodiment of the system of FIG. 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure is directed to a system and method that allows acelebrity to upload a video clip for automatic distribution tosubscribers. As will be described in greater detail below, subscribersmay pay a service fee to automatically receive the streaming video clipsfrom one or more celebrities. When a particular celebrity uploads avideo, the uploaded video is automatically distributed to the subscriberlist for that celebrity. In addition, each subscriber will receive apush notification indicating the impending delivery of a video clip.Although referred to herein as a “video” clip, those skilled in the artwill appreciate that the video is typically accompanied by an audiotrack. As used herein the term “video” is intended to encompass avideo-only clip as well as a combined video and audio clip.

FIG. 1 illustrates a system architecture used to implement a system 100in accordance with the present teachings. As will be described ingreater detail below, any individual who has a sufficient subscriberfollowing may be eligible to broadcast video clips. Those individuals,whether they are sports figures, actors, television personalities, orthe like, will be referred to herein as broadcasters. This term isintended to indicate that those individuals have a sufficient fan basethat they are eligible to broadcast videos.

FIG. 1 illustrates the communication device of a broadcaster 102 and abroadcaster 103. Although FIG. 1 illustrates only two broadcasters(i.e., the broadcasters 102-103), the system 100 provides for a largenumber of broadcasters. For the sake of clarity, the system illustratedin FIG. 1 illustrates only two broadcasters. The communication devicesfor the broadcaster 102-103 can be any device capable of video recordingand having a computer network connection. This includes, but is notlimited to, smartphones, laptop computers, tablets, and he like. In FIG.1, the broadcaster 102 is coupled to a network 104 via a communicationlink 106 while the broadcaster 103 is coupled to the network 104 via acommunication link 105. In an exemplary embodiment, the network 104 maybe the Internet. The communication links 105-106 are intended to depicta broad variety of network connections that may be possible. Forexample, if the device of the broadcaster 102 is a smartphone, thecommunication link 106 may be a cellular communication link (e.g., 3G,4G, LTE, or similar telecommunications network technology). A typicalsmartphone also includes Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capabilities. If thebroadcaster 102 utilizes these capabilities to connect to he network104, the communication link 106 may be an appropriate wirelesscommunication link. In yet another embodiment, the broadcaster 102 maybe coupled to the network 104 using a wired connection, such asEthernet. In this embodiment, the communication link 106 is an Ethernetconnection. Other known connection technologies may be used for variouscommunication links described herein. In addition, the communicationlink 106 may be provided by an Internet service provider (not shown). Inthis embodiment, the broadcaster 102 is coupled to he network 104 via acommunication link 106 provided by the Internet service provider. Inaddition, the communication link 106 may represent multiple forms ofcommunication links, such as a wireless link, wired link, or combinationthereof. The system 100 is not limited by the form of any communicationlink.

Also illustrated in FIG. 1 is a video servicing agency 108. As will bedescribed in greater detail below, the video servicing agency 108 may bea single computer server or a cloud computer server, is illustrated bythe surrounding cloud in FIG. 1. In this embodiment, the video servicingagency 108 may be distributed throughout geographic regions. The videoservicing agency 108 is coupled to the network 104 via a communicationlink 110. As discussed above with respect to the communication link 106,the communication link 110 may be satisfactorily implemented by one ormore known network connection technologies.

FIG. 1 also illustrates a number of communication devices forsubscribers 112-116. Although FIG. 1 illustrates a small number ofsubscribers 112-116, a popular celebrity may include tens of thousandsor millions of followers. For the sake of clarity, a system 100 will beexplained with respect to a single broadcaster 102 and a small number ofsubscribers 112-116, but with the understanding that the system andmethod may be readily scaled to include a much larger number ofbroadcasters and subscribers. Similar to the broadcaster 102, thecommunication devices for the subscribers 112-116 may be implementedusing, by way of example, smartphones, desktop computers, laptops,tablets, or the like. The subscribers 112-116 are coupled to the network104 via respective communication links 118-122. As noted above, thecommunication links 118-122 may be implemented by one or more of avariety of known network connection technologies. One or more of thesubscribers 112-116 may use a cellular connection to access the network104.

As will be described in greater detail below, the broadcaster 102establishes a video session with the video servicing agency 108 anduploads a video clip. The video servicing agency 108 sends a pushnotification to any of the subscribers 112-116 that has subscribed tothe live video broadcasts of the broadcaster 102. When the video clip isreceived from the broadcaster 102, the video servicing agency 108distributes the video to the subscribers of the live video service.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the video servicing agency 108.The video servicing agency 108 controls the uploading and distributionof videos from the broadcaster 102 (see FIG. 1). In addition, the videoservicing agency 108 provides subscriber management and billingfunctions. As will be described in greater detail below, eachbroadcaster 102 may have a large number of fans that follow thebroadcaster on one or more forms of social media, such as Facebook,Twitter, Vine, Instagram, or the like. Even though fans may be followersof the broadcaster 102 on one or more of these social media networks,those individuals may not be paying subscribers for purposes of livevideo delivery. A LiVideo™ service is one in which subscribers pay tofollow one or more broadcasters. For example, one broadcaster 102 maycharge $0.99 per month to each subscriber to their LiVideo™ servicewhile another broadcaster may charge $1.99 for its LiVideo™ service. Aswill be described in detail below, the video servicing agency 108identifies the broadcaster 102 and matches the subscription list withthat broadcaster to provide distribution of the uploaded video as wellas the push notification message.

The video servicing agency 108 includes a video server 130 that willhandle any processing or transcoding of the video from a formatdelivered by the broadcaster 102 to a format suitable for widespreaddistribution via the network 104. The video server 130 handles allaspects of video signal processing. The video server 130 may betypically implemented by a conventional server computer. Conventionalcomponents of the video server 130, such as a central processing unit,memory, data storage, and communication interfaces are known in the artand need not be described in greater detail herein. Those skilled in theart will appreciate that many different data formats may besatisfactorily employed to upload video data from the broadcaster 102and for streaming from the video servicing agency 108 to the subscribers112-116. The particular format used by the broadcaster 102 may bedependent on the particular device used by the broadcaster and/or thetype of network connection available on the communication link 106.Similarly, data formats, such as real time protocol (RTP) could be usedby the video servicing agency 108 to stream to the subscribers 112-116.

However, RTP may drop data packets resulting in an unpleasant viewingexperience. In one embodiment, the video server 130 receives the videoclip from the broadcaster 102 and transcodes the video from its nativeformat to HTTP live streaming (HLS), which is a known streaming mediacommunications protocol. The video servicing agency 108 of FIG. 2 alsoincludes a video buffer 134, which may be part of the video server 130.The video buffer 134 receives and temporarily stores the uploaded videosprovided by one or more of the broadcasters 102 until they aredistributed to the subscribers 112-116. The video buffer 134 may alsotemporarily store the iranscoded video in the HLS format fordistribution to the subscribers 112-116. The buffering function is alsoutilized to help improve the quality of the video delivered to thesubscriber.

The video servicing agency 108 also includes one or more networkinterface controllers (NICs) 136 to control communications between thevideo servicing agency and the network 104. As previously discussed, thevideo servicing agency 108 may be a centralized computing system withrelatively few NICs 136 or may be a distributed cloud-based systemrequiring a large number of NICs 136. The particular form of each

NIC 136 depends on the nature of the communication link 110 between thevideo servicing agency 108 and the network 104.

The video servicing agency 108 also includes a subscriber managementserver 138 to handle subscriber enrollment and other managementfunctions. As noted above, a subscriber may subscribe to one or morebroadcasters. The subscriber management server 138 controls the creationand management of subscriber lists and storage of subscriber data in asubscriber data storage area 140. The subscriber data storage area 140stores subscriber information in association with the particularbroadcasters 102 for which the subscriber has signed up and paid theappropriate subscription fee. The subscriber data storage area 140 wouldtypically include an email address, residential address, mobile phonenumber and the like. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that thesubscriber data storage area 140 also contains data linking eachsubscriber to one or more broadcasters (e.g., the broadcaster 102). Forexample, each subscriber profile may include a data field identifyingthe broadcasters associated with each particular subscriber. Othercommon database implementations can be used satisfactorily to implementthe subscriber data storage area 140 and to create a link betweenbroadcasters and subscribers.

In addition to registration information, the client management server138 may also perform the function of a data analytics server to analyzesubscriber profiles and subscriber activities. For example, subscribersocial media pages may be available to the client management server 138and provide information such as favorite musicians, favorite sportsteams, favorite movies, and the like. Social media pages also providebackground information, such as schools attended, job information, andthe like. The client management server 138 can analyze this data tocreate its own profile of the subscriber that can be used to generatetargeted advertising for the subscriber. In addition, the clientmanagement server 138 can monitor subscriber activities.

For example, the client management server 138 can monitor which profilepages of broadcasters 102 that a subscriber visits, including detailssuch as number of visits, length of visits, and the like. The clientmanagement server 138 can use the activity data in conjunction with thesocial media data and user profile data to create its own user profile.Those skilled in the art will appreciate that such data analytics arepresently known in the art and may be provided by a third-party source.

The video servicing agency 108 also includes a billing server 142. Inone embodiment, the billing server 142 may be implemented by athird-party service, such as PayPal or Apple Pay. The third-partyintermediary allows billing without the subscribers 112-116 having toprovide credit card information to sign up as a subscriber for variousbroadcasters 102. Other third-party intermediary payment services mayalso be satisfactorily employed as the billing server 142. In anotherembodiment, the billing server 142 may be directly handled in the videoservicing agency 108. In this embodiment, the subscribers 112-116 wouldprovide credit card and billing information to allow direct billing forthe LiVideom' subscriptions selected by each subscriber.

One skilled in the art will appreciate that the various serversillustrated in the video servicing agency 108 may be combined. Forexample, the video server 130 and the subscriber management server 138may be implemented by a single computing device. Similarly, thesubscriber management server 138 and the billing server 142 (ifimplemented directly in the video servicing agency 108) may beimplemented by a single computing device, In yet another embodiment, thevideo server 130, the subscriber management server 138 and the billingserver 142 may be implemented by a single computing device havingsufficient computing power. The various servers are illustrated asseparate blocks in FIG. 2 because each has a separate functionality. Thevarious components in the video servicing agency may be coupled togetherby a bus system 144. In one embodiment, the various components of thevideo servicing agency 108 may be collocated and the bus system 144 isan internal bus or part of a local area network (LAN). However, as notedabove, the video servicing agency 108 may be a cloud implementedservice. In this embodiment, some components may be coupled together bya LAN implementation of the bus system 144 while other components of thevideo servicing agency may be coupled together via the network 104 andthe bus system 144 may include portions of the network.

The operation of the system 100 may now be explained in more detail withrespect to the flowcharts of FIGS. 3-5. In FIG. 3, at a start 200, it isassumed that the devices of both broadcasters and subscribers have nothad the relevant software installed. At step 202, the users (Le., bothbroadcasters and subscribers) download and install a softwareapplication program on the respective communication devices. In step204, all parties log in. The log in screen includes an option to log inas either a viewer (i.e., an individual that will subscribe to one ormore celebrities to thereby follow the live video broadcasts of thecelebrity) or a broadcaster (i.e,, an individual that has met theminimum social media follower requirements imposed by the serviceprovider). In response to selecting the “Broadcaster” button, abroadcaster will confirm through a social media log in that they havemet the minimum criteria for followers.

In decision 206, the system 100 determines whether the individual useris qualified as a broadcaster. In one embodiment, an individual isqualified as a broadcaster if they have a sufficient fan base. The fanbase may be measured by the data provided by various social mediawebsites. For example, the individual may sign in with Facebook,Twitter, Vine, Instagram, or the like. Each of these social mediawebsites has a form of data indicating the number of followers. Forexample, Facebook permits the designation of individuals as “friends.”Other social media websites may include the designation of “followers,”“subscribers,” or the like. When an individual signs in using a socialmedia website, the number of followers can be automatically determined.If the number of followers is above a pre-determined threshold, theindividual is qualified as a broadcaster. For example, the system 100may require that an individual have at least 20,000 followers to qualifyas a broadcaster. If the individual is qualified as a broadcaster, theresult of decision 206 is YES and, in step 208, the system may displaythe terms and conditions of operation for the broadcaster (e.g., thebroadcaster 102 of FIG. 1). The system 100 may also enable an embodimentof the software for a broadcaster that is different from that of asubscriber. The broadcaster version of the software will provide ratecharging information as well as payment and tax information for thebroadcaster. The subscriber version of the application software need notinclude such features, but does include a list of celebrities andassociated rates charged by each celebrity for the LiVideo™ service.

In step 210, the broadcaster 102 may determine an appropriatesubscription rate. For example, the broadcaster 102 may wish to chargesubscribers a nominal fee, such as $0.99 per month to each subscriberthat will receive the videos created by the broadcaster. A differentbroadcaster may choose to charge $1.99 per month for their subscribers.After the selection of the subscription rate in step 210, the system 100may provide optional payment and Lax information to the broadcaster 102in step 212. This information indicates the frequency and manner ofpayment for subscribers as well as relevant tax information. In step214, the broadcaster establishes a profile. Those skilled in the artwill appreciate that the profile set up may include provision ofpersonal and professional information, as well as other information thatmay be of general interest to the broadcaster's fan base. This may alsoinclude image data and stored video data that a fan may access as asubscriber to the broadcaster 102. In addition, the system 100 mayprovide for an optional announcement message in step 216. Theannouncement message may be a text message, image data, audio messageand/or video message transmitted through the system 100 or transmittedvia the various social media websites on which the subscriber 102 isactive. For example, the announcement 216 may be sent to friends,followers, subscribers, and the like of the various social mediawebsites. The announcement could be a message to various social mediawebsites urging followers to use the LiVideo™ services to see the latestvideo. The announcement information may also include subscriberinformation, subscriber rate information, as well as information onsubscribing to the live video service.

After the profile is established, the broadcaster 102 can look atstatistical data related to viewers and subscribers. This may include,for example, data related to the total number of views of thebroadcaster's profile page, the number of unique views of thebroadcaster's profile page, and the like The information may be providedto the broadcaster using a broadcaster version of the applicationprogram installed in step 202, provided using a link to a data reportingwebsite or in the form of a soft or hard copy report periodicallyprovided to the broadcaster. The broadcaster initial setup process endsat 218.

If the viewer is not qualified as a broadcaster, the result of decision206 is NO and, in step 220, the system 100 provides an account set-upstep for individuals that are designated as subscribers or viewers(i.e., not eligible as broadcasters). In the account set up, theindividual include log in information with email address and phonenumber or provides log in information through a social media account.

This information may be used to verify the phone number of theindividual and to provide a text verification code that the user mustenter in order to verify the authenticity of the user. For example, theaccount set-up step 220 allows for the transmission of a SMS textmessage to the user-entered mobile number. The user enters the textverification code to confirm the user's identity and phone number. Thesystem 100 will not proceed if the user-entered text verification codedoes not match the text verification code transmitted to the user'ssmart phone. The SMS text confirmation code is typically only usedduring the initial account set-up and need not be repeated every time aviewer logs in to the system 100.

In step 222, the system allows an individual viewer to perform a profileset up. As with the profile set up (step 214) for the broadcaster, theprofile set up for individual users may include image data, video data,and other personal information. The system 100 can provide a blank formfor completion by the viewer. In addition to log-in information, mobilephone number, an e-mail address, residential address, user name,password, and the like, the user can provide information used bybroadcasters or the service provider for targeted advertising andmerchandising. For example, based on the user profile, or subscriptionselections, the system 100 may provide subscription suggestions (e.g.,“based on your profile, you like comedy; you should subscribe to . . .).

There could be pushes of data to subscribers based on information in thesubscriber profile, or based on subscriber behavior gathered duringperiods of use of the LiVideo™ software application program. Forexample, if a subscriber has viewed the profile of a celebrity ten timein the recent past, the LiVideo™ software application program can trackthis usage suggest subscribing to the particular celebrity. In oneembodiment, the software application program could provide a discount tothe subscriber and/or provide a link to a location that simplifiessubscribing to the celebrity. In another example, the LiVideorm softwareapplication program may track a subscriber's viewing activity withseveral celebrities, or subscription to several celebrities, that mayindicate interest in a particular genre. The software applicationprogram can suggest other celebrities in the same genre and/or offerdiscounts (e.g., first month free or discount on the first month ordiscount if you subscribe to multiple celebrities in that genre.

Following the profile set up, the system 100 displays terms andconditions for viewers in step 224. The system 100 may also display acalendar of events to guide the user in the selection of upcomingvideos. In step 226, the system 100 displays celebrity information forthe viewer. In one embodiment, the system can provide categories ofavailable celebrities and allow the viewer to the select celebrities inindividual categories. For example, categories may include actors,sports figures, politicians, celebrities, and the lice. The user canclick on each category to view a list of broadcasters in theuser-selected category. The list of celebrities may also include therate information for each celebrity.

In step 228, the viewer may subscribe to selected celebrities. Forexample, the viewer may select a celebrity to follow simply by clickingon a checkbox. The subscription process in step 228 also includes apayment process. As discussed above, the system 100 may employ existingthird-party payment services, such as PayPal or other known third-partypayment services. Alternatively, the system may provide for paymentservices handled directly by the video servicing agency 108 (see FIG.1), For any type of payment service, the user must provide credit cardand billing information (e.g., name, billing address, expiration date,security code, and the like). The viewer may subscribe to othercelebrities in a similar fashion. The system 100 also provides forediting of the celebrity list to add or delete subscriptions at a laterdate. Following the subscription to one or more selected celebrities instep 228, the set up and log in process ends at 218.

When a viewer subscribes to a particular celebrity, the subscribermanagement server 138 (see FIG. 2) adds the user data and celebrityinformation to the subscriber data storage area 140. This will permitthe automatic distribution of videos to all subscribers for a particularbroadcaster 102. In addition, subscriber information is provided to thebilling server 142 to set up a billing procedure for the individualviewer for each selected celebrity.

FIG. 4 illustrates a process of uploading a video by the broadcaster102. At a start 250, the subscriber 102 (see FIG. 1) has alreadyestablished an account and profile with the video servicing agency 108.In addition, the video servicing agency 108 already has a list ofsubscribers for each particular broadcaster 102.

In step 252, the broadcaster 102 creates a video. The system 100 maypermit videos of virtually any length. However, most fans are interestedin only a short duration video. Accordingly, in one embodiment, thevideo may be limited to a convenient length such as a 30 second or 60second video clip. In decision 254, the broadcaster 102 may determine ifthe video is satisfactory. If something in the video clip wasunsatisfactory to the broadcaster 102, they may reject the video and theresult of decision 254 is NO. In this case, the system 100 returns tostep 252 to remake the video.

If the video is acceptable to the broadcaster 102, they may approve. Inthis case, the result of decision 254 is YES and, in step 256, thebroadcaster 102 uploads the video clip to the video servicing agency108.

In step 258, the video servicing agency 108 pushes a notification to allof the subscribers for the particular broadcaster 102 indicating that avideo clip is about to be downloaded to the subscriber. The pushnotification may be triggered by the broadcaster sending a message tothe video servicing agency 108 about an impending upload of a videoclip, or may be automatically triggered by some event, such asactivation of the video device on the communication device for thebroadcaster 102. The push notification message may also be triggered bythe beginning of the upload of the video clip to the video servicingagency 108.

As described above, the video server 130 in the video servicing agency108 performs any necessary transcoding to create a video clip fordistribution to subscribers using the HLS protocol or other conventionalprotocol that optimizes video delivery and overall system performance.The transcoded video clip may be stored temporarily in the video buffer134 until the distribution to the subscribers 112-116.

The system 100 provides for a variety of user-selected options. In oneembodiment, the subscriber may wish to receive the push notification anddetermine whether or not to receive the video dip from the broadcaster102. The subscriber may wish to receive the push notification anddetermine whether or not to receive the video clip on a case-by-casebasis. This may be referred as an opt-in option where the subscribermust provide a positive indication of the desire to receive the videodip. In one embodiment, the user may swipe an icon on the touch screenof the communication device to indicate acceptance of the impendingvideo dip. If the subscriber does not provide the positive indication(i.e., the opt-in notification), the video servicing agency 108 will notsend the video dip to that subscriber.

If the subscriber wishes to view the video dip, but did not respondwithin some predetermined time limit, it may be possible to view theremaining video dip midstream, or to view the video dip in its entiretyeven though it may be slightly time delayed. In an alternativeembodiment, the video dip is streamed to subscribers and is not storedon the video server 130 (see FIG. 2) for later delivery. In thisembodiment, the user must swipe the icon (i.e., provide the opt-innotification) within a brief time period, there is no opportunity toview the video when it is delivered to other subscribers.

The system 100 also provides for a subscriber opt-out option in step260. In this option, the viewer has provided an indication of the desireto automatically receive incoming video dips from the celebrities towhich the subscriber has subscribed. To receive the incoming video dip,the subscriber need not perform any action. That is, the video clip isautomatically streamed to the subscriber. If the subscriber does notwish to receive a particular video clip for some reason (e.g., it is aninconvenient time to view the video clip), the subscriber may slide anicon on the touch display of the subscriber's communication device toreject incoming videos on a case-by-case basis. The opt-in and opt-outoptions may be selected by the user during the account set up of step222 (see FIG. 3) or profile set up of step 222. The subscriber may alsoedit and viewing options to switch from opt-in to opt-out or vice versaby editing the account or profile information

In yet another alternative embodiment, the operator of the system 100may select the opt-in or opt-out option as a default operational mode.In this embodiment, the subscriber cannot choose between the opt-in andopt-out modes of operation. For example, by downloading and installingthe application program on the user device, the user effectively agreesto automatically receive video clips for any broadcaster for which theuser is a subscriber. In this embodiment, the user need not take nayaction to receive a video clip. The video clips are automaticallydelivered and displayed on the user device without any human interactionby the user.

In step 262, the subscriber receives a “Live in 5” countdown message toindicate that the incoming video will be arriving in approximately fiveseconds. In one embodiment, this message may include an actual numbercountdown until the streaming video arrives. In step 264, the videoservicing agency 108 pushes the video to all subscribers of thebroadcaster 102 based on the opt-in and opt-out selections made by thesubscriber. The process ends at 266.

In an alternative embodiment, the broadcaster 102 may wish to limitdistribution to a select group of subscribers. In one variation, it maybe desirable to limit distribution on the basis of geography. Forexample, if the broadcaster 102 is making an appearance in a particulargeographic area, such as a particular venue, city, state or the like, anannouncement of the appearance need not be distributed to the entiresubscriber list for that broadcaster 102. Instead, the subscribermanagement server 138 (see FIG. 2) can, in effect, filter the subscriberlist to generate a selected subscriber list of targeted subscribers.This feature provides a degree of exclusivity between the broadcasterand the targeted group of subscribers.

In one embodiment, the broadcaster (e.g., the broadcaster 102) may sendan announcement only to the subscribers of the particular broadcasterbased on some geographical limitation. In an alternative, thebroadcaster (e.g., the broadcaster 102) may send an announcement to thesubscribers of one or more other broadcasters (e.g., the subscribers ofbroadcaster 103) based on the same geographical limitation,

For example, the broadcasters (e.g., the broadcasters 102-103) may bemusicians on the same record label, the same nationality, or may be inthe same musical genre such that the subscribers of one broadcaster maybe interested in a different broadcaster. Thus, the decision to includesubscribers of another broadcaster that meet the geographicallimitations may be based on subscriber profiles or based on marketinganalysis of subscriber interests or subscriber activities. For example,the subscriber data storage area 140 may have one or more data fieldsindicating broadcaster profiles viewed by the subscriber that indicatesubscriber interests. The selection of a subscriber may also be based ontracking information indicating the presence of the subscriber in thegeographical area of interest.

In yet another alternative, the subscriber data storage area 140 maycontain profile information for an individual who is not yet asubscriber to any broadcasters. These individuals may be thought of assubscribers in the sense that they have downloaded and installed theLiVideo™ software application program and have entered user data, suchas an email address, residential address, mobile number, or the like. Ifthe non-subscriber meets the geographic limitation described above, theymay be included on the filtered subscriber list. The non-subscriber maybe identified based on the profile data provided by the non-subscriberor based on marketing analysis of non-subscriber interests ornon-subscriber activities, such as profiles of one or more broadcastersthat have been viewed by the non-subscriber. The selection of anon-subscriber may also be based on tracking information indicating thepresence of the non-subscriber in the geographical area of interest.This approach may provide a useful marketing tool that encourages anon-subscriber to subscribe to one or more broadcasters.

This is illustrated by the optional steps in the flowchart of FIG. 4where at step 268, the broadcaster 108 selects a geographic limitation.In step 270, the subscriber management server 138 (see FIG. 2) appliesthe geographic restriction to the subscriber list for the particularbroadcaster 108 to generate a selected subscriber list. In step 272, thevideo is pushed to the selected subscriber list rather than to theentire subscriber list. In step 274, the subscriber management server138 can be configured to store or delete the selected subscriber list.Those skilled in the art will appreciate that other steps in theflowchart of FIG. 4 can also be executed in this embodiment. Forexample, the push notifications of step 258 could be used to sendnotifications text messages to the select subscribers.

In one example, the subscriber data 140 may include residentialinformation about the subscribers. If a particular subscriber is fromthe particular city where the appearance is scheduled, they can be addedto the selected subscriber list. Furthermore, if the subscriber liveswithin a predetermined distance of the city where the appearance isscheduled (e.g., a fifty mile radius), they can be added to the selectedsubscriber list.

In another alternative, the present location of subscribers can bedynamically determined and those subscribers presently in the city wherethe appearance is scheduled, or within a predetermined distance of thecity where the appearance is scheduled, can be added to the selectedsubscriber list.

Many applications, such as a map application, include location-basedservices where the user's present location is determined and transmittedto a central location. A typical smartphone, such as the subscriber 112of FIG. 1, includes a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver (notshown) that can determine the subscriber's present location with greataccuracy. The GPS location data, often in the form of latitude andlongitude data, can be periodically transmitted by the subscriber 112 tothe video servicing agency 108 for processing by the subscribermanagement server 138.

Alternatively, the subscriber 112 may respond to a location query by thesubscriber management server 138 and provide GPS location data inresponse to the query.

In yet another alternative, the software application dovvnloaded to thewireless devices of the subscribers can obtain the device identificationand device tracking information to provide location data to thesubscriber management server 138. In one example, the software can trackthe cell and sector in which the wireless communication device iscurrently located. Other device tracking techniques are known in the artand can be satisfactorily used to determine the current location of thesubscribers.

Many smartphone applications give the subscriber control overlocation-based services. That is, the subscriber can elect not to permittransmission of location data. If the subscriber elects not to permitthe use of location-based services, that subscriber has opted out andwill not be included in the selected subscriber list and will notreceive any video related to the scheduled appearance of the broadcaster108 even if that subscriber is presently in the geographic region wherethe appearance is scheduled.

The subscriber, can, however, still possibly receive the video if otherinformation is used by the subscriber management server 138, such as thesubscriber's profile data, which may include such information. In oneembodiment, the subscriber must agree to opt in and permitlocation-based services to download the software application forLiVideo™ service. In yet another embodiment, the LiVideo™ softwareapplication program can provide a pop up a menu when initially openedwith an opt-in-opt-out option to provide location information for thesubscriber. In yet another implementation, the location information ispart of the LiVideo ^(TM) software application program without theoption of a subscriber opt-in or opt-oui selection.

In operation, the broadcaster 108 can include geographic and timelimitation data along with uploaded video in step 256 of FIG. 4. Thegeographic data can be a city, county, or even a specific venue and canbe selected from a map or a list presented to the broadcaster 102. Thesubscriber management server 138 uses this geographical information togenerate the selected subscriber list in step 270. In step 272, themessage (e.g., the video clip) is pushed to the selected subscribers inthe manner discussed above with respect to videos to all subscribers.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the selected subscriberlist can be dynamically generated based on the geographic informationprovided by the broadcaster 102. The subscriber management server 138(see FIG. 2) can generate the selected subscriber list when the video isuploaded from the broadcaster 102 to the video buffer 134. The selectedfilter list can be discarded immediately after the video is pushed tothe selected subscribers, as illustrated in step 274. Alternatively, theselected subscriber list may be temporarily stored by the videoservicing agency 108. For example, the selected subscriber list can bestored until the appearance has actually occurred. This approach cansimplify transmission of follow-up video messages from the broadcaster108 to subscribers on the selected subscriber list.

Although the generation of a targeted subscriber list is described withrespect to the delivery of a video clip, those skilled in the art willappreciate that the message delivered to the targeted subscribers can bein other formats, such as an audio message, or a text message. An audiomessage is delivered in essentially the same manner as described for avideo clip in the flowchart of FIG. 4. The broadcaster 102 (see FIG. 1)generates an audio message (step 252) and uploads it to the videoservicing agency 108 (step 256). Steps 268-274 are performed in the samemanner for the audio clip message as they would be performed for thevideo clip message.

A text message can also be processed in the same manner. The video clipand audio clip delivery described above utilize the software applicationprogram downloaded and installed on the subscriber devices (step 202 ofFIG. 3). In a similar fashion, the broadcaster 102 can upload a textmessage to the video servicing agency 108 for delivery to targetedsubscribers using the application program.

Alternatively, the text message could be delivered to the videoservicing agency 108 using the software application program downloadedand installed on the broadcaster mobile device or uploaded to the videoservicing agency using a conventional short messaging service (SMS). Thetext message received by the video servicing agency 108 can be deliveredto the targeted subscriber list using the software application program,as described above with respect to video and audio clips, or deliveredto the targeted subscribers using SMS. The video servicing agency 108can retrieve the mobile numbers from the subscriber data 140 for each ofthe subscribers on the selected subscriber list and deliver thebroadcaster message using SMS.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the reception and display of videoson the subscriber device. At a start 280, the subscriber has downloadedthe appropriate application software, described in FIG. 3, and hassubscribed to one or more broadcasters 102.

At step 282, the subscriber receives a push notification (transmitted bythe video servicing agency in step 258 of FIG. 4). In step 284, theoptional opt-in and opt-out process may be performed by the user. Thatis, if the subscriber has selected an opt-in option, the subscriber mustactively indicate the desire to receive the video clip. Alternatively,if the subscriber has selected the opt-out option during account set up,step 284 need not be performed to receive the video clip.

In step 286, the subscriber receives the “Live in 5” countdown messageand in step 288, the subscriber receives and displays the videotransmitted by the broadcaster 102. Once the system 100 has begundelivery of the video clip, the incoming video data stream contains thenecessary data to interact with the previously installed softwareapplication program so that the incoming video clip effectively “ownsthe screen.” That is, the display and audio interfaces on thesubscribers communication device are under the operational control ofthe incoming data stream.

The system 100 permits subscribers to add subscriber comments in step290 and to view other subscriber comments in step 292. In step 290, thesubscriber may provide commentary on the broadcaster 102 in generaland/or commentary on the particular video clip. These comments can bescrolled and will be seen by other subscribers of a particularbroadcaster that are also viewing a particular video clip atapproximately the same time. In one embodiment, subscribers may indicateapproval of another's comment. The indication of a large scale approvalmay cause a subscriber comment to bubble up to the top of the subscribercomments.

The system 100 permits subscribers to modify their celebrity list instep 294. This permits the subscriber to add or delete broadcasters 102from their subscription list. Any changes to the subscription list areprocessed by the subscriber management server 138 (see FIG. 2) and therevised data stored in the subscriber data storage area 140. The changesto the celebrity lists are also provided to the billing server 142 sothat the billing may be altered accordingly.

In one alternative embodiment, the system 100 can provide a videotimeline for viewing in step 296. The video timeline 296 can includepast video clips for a predetermined period of time (e.g., one minute,one hour, 12 hours, one day, etc.) as well as a schedule of upcomingfuture scheduled video clips. In one embodiment, the video timeline caninclude video clips only for the broadcasters 102 for which anindividual has already subscribed. In an alternative embodiment, thevideo timeline can include video clips may be a complete list thatincludes recently distributed video clips and scheduled future videoclips from all broadcasters 102. The video clips may be provided free ofcharge to the subscriber or be used as inducement for the subscriber toadd additional broadcasters to their list. The process ends at 298.

A system and method has been described for delivering broadcaster videomessages to one or more subscribers using the video servicing agency 108illustrated in FIG. 1. In another embodiment, the system 100 can beconfigured to deliver text messages to the subscribers (e.g., thesubscribers 112-116). In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6, the videoservicing agency 108 has been expanded in functionality and is referredto as a message servicing agency 308. The message servicing agency 308can perform all of the functions described above with respect to thevideo servicing agency 108 (see FIG. 1) with respect to video streamingto subscribers and video streaming to a geographically limitedsubscriber set.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6, the message servicing agency308 can deliver text messages to subscribers. In one embodiment, thetext message is generated by the broadcaster using the native textmessaging capability on the broadcaster's smart phone. This permits thebroadcaster to generate text messages for subscribers without having toactivate the software application program, as described above. The textmessage is directed to a predetermined telephone number that will causethe text message to be redirected to the message servicing agency 308.

In one embodiment, the message servicing agency 308 may send textmessages directly to the smart phones of each of the subscribers (e.g.,the subscribers 112-116) using the cell phone numbers of the individualsubscribers. Again, this process may use the native text messagingcapability of the smart phones of each of the subscribers 112-116. Thisapproach also avoids any need for activating the software applicationprogram.

In an alternative embodiment, FIG. 6 illustrates a chat room 310associated with the broadcaster 103. Although the chat room 310 isillustrated in FIG. 6 as coupled to the broadcaster wireless device,that is merely to indicate the association of the chat room 310 with thebroadcaster 103. In a typical embodiment, the chat room 310 is supportedon a server (not shown) coupled to the network 104. In this embodiment,the message servicing agency 308 receives the text message from thebroadcaster 103 and redirects the text message to the chat room 310associated with the broadcaster. Subsequently, the message servicingagency 308 pushes a notification to each of the subscribers 112-116 toadvise them of the availability of a new text message in the chat room310 of the broadcaster 103. The use of notifications in smartphones iswell known in the art and need not be described herein. The subscribersmay then manually navigate to the chat room 310 to view the text messageand to reply to the text message or provide commentary on the textmessage, as is frequently done in a chat room.

In yet another alternative, the push notification message from themessage servicing agency 308 may be an interactive notification thatautomatically moves the subscriber to the chat room 310. The use ofinteractive notifications is also well known. In this embodiment, thesubscribers 112-116 receive the push notification message and mayactivate the interactive notification to automatically navigate to thechat room 310 to view the text message.

The interactive notification in the push notification message may be inany convenient form to permit easy activation by the subscribers. Forexample, the link may include a “swipe” feature that allows thesubscriber to swipe the touch screen display to thereby activate the thesoftware application program and automatically navigate to the chat room310. In an alternative embodiment, the link may require a double-tap onthe screen by the subscriber to activate the link and automaticallynavigate to the chat room 310. Other conventional forms of linkactivation may also be satisfactorily employed with the interactive pushnotification messages. Activation of the interactive push notificationwill automatically start the software application program describedabove and automatically take the subscriber to the chat room 310 to viewthe text message from the broadcaster 103.

As is conventional with chat rooms, the subscriber may reply to the textmessage and provide a comment related to the text message. Replies andcommentaries are entered by the subscriber in a conventional fashionthat need not be described herein.

Other subscribers in the chat room 310 may see the original text messagefrom the broadcaster 103 as well as replies and comments from any othersubscribers.

FIG. 7 illustrates a functional block diagram of the message servicingagency 308. The message servicing agency 308 includes certain elementsthat are similar in operation to elements described in FIG. 2. For thesake of brevity, those common components need not be described again.

When the broadcaster 103 uploads a text message, it is temporarilystored in the message buffer 314. The message server 312 handlesdelivery of the text message to the subscribers. In one embodiment,described above, the message server 312 may transmit individual textmessages directly to the subscribers 112-116 (see FIG. 6). hialternative embodiment, the message server 312 directs the text messageto the chat room 310 associated with the broadcaster 103. In thisembodiment, the message server 312 pushes a notification message to thesubscribers 112-116. As those skilled in the art appreciate, the MC 136provides an interface to the network and controls the actualcommunication.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating the operation of the embodiment ofFIG. 6. At a start 320, the broadcaster 103 has already set up the chatroom 310. In step 322, the broadcaster sends a text message. As notedabove, the text message may be directed to a pre-determined telephonenumber using the native text messaging capabilities of the broadcasterssmartphone. In step 324, the message is delivered to the video servicingagency 308 and may be temporarily stored in the message buffer 314 forprocessing by the message server 312.

In step 326, the message server 312 send the text message to the chatroom 310 associated with the broadcaster 103. In step 328, the messageserver 312 pushes a notification message to the subscribers 112-116. Theinteractive notification allows the notification recipient to respond ina simple manner. hi the present case, the interactive notificationpermits the subscriber to open the application program and to navigatethe the chat room 310 of the subscriber 103 to thereby view the textmessage. In step 330, the subscriber device has navigated to the chatroom 310. This may be done manually by the subscriber or automaticallyvia the interactive notification described above.

In step 332, the subscriber may view the text message and reply to thetext message or enter comment related to the text message. As notedabove, subscriber replies and comments may be viewed by othersubscribers that are in the chat room 310. The process ends at 334.

A mechanism for limiting subscribers to a pre-determined geographic areahas been described above with respect to streaming videos. However, thissame geographic filtering may be applied to text messaging as well. Inthis embodiment, the optional steps 268-274 in the flow chart of FIG. 4may be applied to text messaging by the message server 312 to generate aselected subscriber list. Thus, a text message may be readily generatedby the broadcaster and distributed to the subscribers in an automatedfashion. The broadcaster may generate and upload a text message withouthaving to activate the software application program. In one embodiment,subscribers receive the text message directly from the message servicingagency 308 and do not need to activate the software application program.In another embodiment, the text message is directed to the chat room 310and a push notification sent to subscribers that may include an activelink to easily activate the software application program andautomatically direct the subscriber to the chat room 310.

Thus, the system and method described herein allow celebrities tobroadcast live or near real-time videos to their fans on a subscriptionservice basis. The video dips are streamed to a centralized location anddistributed to the subscribers along with an advance notice text messageindicating the video will follow in a short time frame. This allowscelebrities to maintain close connections with their fan base and tokeep the celebrity in the public eye.

The foregoing described embodiments depict different componentscontained within, or connected with, different other components. It isto be understood that such depicted architectures are merely exemplary,and that in fact many other architectures can be implemented whichachieve the same functionality. In a conceptual sense, any arrangementof components to achieve the same functionality is effectively“associated” such that the desired functionality is achieved. Hence, anytwo components herein combined to achieve a particular functionality canbe seen as “associated with” each other such that the desiredfunctionality is achieved, irrespective of architectures or intermedialcomponents. Likewise, any two components so associated can also beviewed as being “operably connected,” or “operably coupled,” to eachother to achieve the desired functionality.

While particular embodiments of the present invention have been shownand described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that,based upon the teachings herein, changes and modifications may be madewithout departing from this invention and its broader aspects and,therefore, the appended claims are to encompass within their scope allsuch changes and modifications as are within the true spirit and scopeof this invention. Furthermore, it is to be understood that theinvention is solely defined by the appended claims. It will beunderstood by those within the art that, in general, terms used herein,and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of the appendedclaims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term“including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” theterm “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term“includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,”etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if aspecific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such anintent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence ofsuch recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid tounderstanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of theintroductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claimrecitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed toimply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinitearticles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing suchintroduced claim recitation to inventions containing only one suchrecitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases“one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or“an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should typically be interpreted to mean “atleast one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use ofdefinite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, evenif a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitlyrecited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitationshould typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number(e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without othermodifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or morerecitations). Accordingly, the invention is not limited except as by theappended claims.

1. A computer-implemented method comprising: generating a text messageusing a broadcaster communication device; uploading the text message toa server; the server retrieving a subscriber list associated with thebroadcaster; and the server pushing a notification message to each of aplurality of subscribers on the subscriber list to indicate theavailability of the text message from the broadcaster. wherein the textmessage is directed from the broadcaster communication device to apredetermined telephone number that causes the text message to beredirected to the server by uploading the text message to the server. 2.(canceled)
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein the text message is directedto the predetermined telephone number using a native text messagingfeature of the broadcaster communication device.
 4. The method of claim1 wherein the text message is uploaded directly to the server using awide-area computer network.
 5. The method of claim 1 wherein the serverredirects the text message to a chat room associated with thebroadcaster.
 6. The method of claim 5 wherein the notification messageincludes a link to permit the communication device of any of theplurality of subscribers on the subscriber list to be directed to thebroadcaster chat room to view the text message.
 7. The method of claim 6wherein the broadcaster chat room accepts comments and replies from thesubscriber communication device, the comments and replies beingavailable for viewing by any of the plurality of subscribers.
 8. Themethod of claim 1 wherein the subscriber list includes geographic datarelated to each of a plurality of subscribers on the subscriber list;the server applying a geographic filter function to the subscriber listto generate a geographically filtered subscriber list; and pushing thenotification message only to subscribers on the geographically filteredsubscriber list to indicate the availability of the text message fromthe broadcaster.
 9. The method of claim 8 wherein the broadcasterselects a geographic region and uploads data to the server to indicatethe selected geographic region selection wherein the server applies thegeographic filter function to the subscriber list based on the uploadeddata indicating the selected geographic region selection to generate thegeographically filtered subscriber list.
 10. The method of claim 9wherein the server generates the geographically filtered subscriber listsuch that subscribers within a predetermined distance of the geographicregion are included in the filtered subscriber list.
 11. The method ofclaim 8, further comprising the server receiving location informationfrom a communication device of each of the plurality of subscriberswherein the geographic data related to subscribers on the subscriberlist comprises the received location information for each subscriber,the server using the received location information to apply thegeographic filter function to the subscriber list.
 12. Acomputer-implemented method comprising: a server receiving a textmessage generated by a broadcaster communication device; the serverretrieving a subscriber list associated with the broadcaster; the serverredirecting the text message to a chat room associated with thebroadcaster; and the server pushing a notification message to each of aplurality of subscribers on the subscriber list to indicate theavailability of the text message from the broadcaster. wherein the textmessage is directed from the broadcaster communication device to apredetermined telephone number that causes the text message to beredirected to the server by uploading the text message to the server.13. (canceled)
 14. The method of claim 12 wherein the text message isdirected to the predetermined telephone number using a native textmessaging feature of the broadcaster communication device.
 15. Themethod of claim 12 wherein the text message is uploaded directly to theserver using a wide-area computer network.
 16. The method of claim 12wherein the notification message includes a link to permit thecommunication device of any of the plurality of subscribers on thesubscriber list to be directed to the broadcaster chat room to view thetext message.
 17. The method of claim 16 wherein the broadcaster chatroom accepts comments and replies from the subscriber communicationdevice, the comments and replies being available for viewing by any ofthe plurality of subscribers.
 18. The method of claim 12 wherein thesubscriber list includes geographic data related to each of a pluralityof subscribers on the subscriber list; the server applying a geographicfilter function to the subscriber list to generate a geographicallyfiltered subscriber list; and pushing the notification message only tosubscribers on the geographically filtered subscriber list to indicatethe availability of the text message from the broadcaster.
 19. A systemfor data distribution comprising: a server coupled to the wide-areanetwork and configured to receive a text message uploaded from abroadcaster communication device to the server; a data storage structurecontaining a subscriber list associated with the broadcaster, thesubscription list including information for each of a plurality ofsubscribers on the subscriber list; wherein the server is configured toretrieve the subscriber list associated with the broadcaster from whomthe text message was received; and the server being configured to push anotification message to each of a plurality of subscribers on thesubscriber list to indicate the availability of the text message fromthe broadcaster, wherein the text message is directed from thebroadcaster communication device to a predetermined telephone numberthat causes the text message to be redirected to the server by uploadingthe text message to the server.
 20. (canceled)
 21. The system of claim19 wherein the text message is directed to the predetermined telephonenumber using a native text messaging feature of the broadcastercommunication device.
 22. The system of claim 19 wherein the textmessage is uploaded directly to the server using a wide-area computernetwork.
 23. The system of claim 19 wherein the server redirects thetext message to a chat room associated with the broadcaster.
 24. Thesystem of claim 23 wherein the notification message includes a link topermit the communication device of any of the plurality of subscriberson the subscriber list to be directed to the broadcaster chat room toview the text message.
 25. The system of claim 24 wherein thebroadcaster chat room accepts comments and replies from the subscribercommunication device, the comments and replies being available forviewing by any of the plurality of subscribers.
 26. The system of claim19 wherein the subscriber list includes geographic data related to eachof a plurality of subscribers on the subscriber list; the server beingfurther configured to apply a geographic filter function to thesubscriber list to generate a geographically filtered subscriber list;and the server pushing the notification message comprises pushing thenotification message only to subscribers on the geographically filteredsubscriber list to indicate the availability of the text message fromthe broadcaster.
 27. The system of claim 26 wherein the broadcasterselects a geographic region and uploads data to the server to indicatethe selected geographic region selection wherein the server isconfigured to apply the geographic filter function to the subscriberlist based on the uploaded data indicating the selected geographicregion selection to generate the geographically filtered subscriberlist.
 28. The system of claim 27 wherein the server generates thegeographically filtered subscriber list such that subscribers within apredetermined distance of the geographic region are included in thefiltered subscriber list.
 29. The system of claim 26 wherein the serveris further configured to receive location information from acommunication device of each of the plurality of subscribers wherein thegeographic data related to subscribers on the subscriber list comprisesthe received location information for each subscriber, the server usingthe received location information to apply the geographic filterfunction to the subscriber list.